


Private, Personal, Heartfelt

by hibiren



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anniversary, Campfires, Canon Rewrite, Conversations, Emotional, Emotions, Episode Ignis Verse 2, Feels, Friendship, Memories, Nostalgia, Reminiscing, Short, Spoilers, Tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 09:31:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16784287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: It was strange, Noctis mused, he thought he’d become fairly skilled at public speaking over time; but here, in front of his friends, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words. It had been two years, two years since the sun came back. Two years of recovery. Of reclaimed time. Noctis wanted to take a night, just for them, to show appreciation in a way that would hopefully mean more to his friends than any award, ceremony, or celebration.





	Private, Personal, Heartfelt

**Author's Note:**

> Also known as, Happy 2nd Anniversary to FFXV!! As well as "Jay Wants to Make It Better Because We All Cried at That Scene(tm) So Now We Can Cry Happy Tears Instead, You're Welcome"
> 
> What better than to take something horribly sad and (okay, perhaps this was self-indulgent of me) make it something happy instead? These guys deserve some MAJOR happy after the things they've gone through.

The three stood before Noctis as if it were any other day, any other ordered summoning. Things had returned to relative normality, if such a thing could exist after everything that had happened. Salute retained, they kept their eyes on Noctis and waited for him to speak. As Noctis looked down at them, he couldn’t help but hint at a smile. So far, his plans had gone unnoticed.

“I summoned you here tonight, to… show you something.”

Of the three, Ignis was the only man to not show the emotional calculations in his expressions. Prompto’s gaze flickered with surprise through his struggle to retain composure. Gladio raised an eyebrow, minutely, but let it fall as Noctis stood and prepared to speak again.

“Follow me.”

Silently, the four made their way down a long hall to an elevator, one that usually went without frequent use. The floors ticked by as they traveled upward toward the roof. Prompto opened his mouth as if to speak, hesitated, and refrained after a moment of thought. Ignis remained still although he glanced at his gloved hands, lips pressed together tight through the quiet. Gladio shifted on his feet and crossed his arms, and the four waited in the same heavying silence until the elevator doors opened to the rooftop.

The rooftop garden spread out before them, green and flowering and beautiful. It had been one of Iris’ personal projects, and had really taken off; what started as a few flower pots scattered across the boring, concrete floor of the roof had blossomed into an expanse of pure green, speckled with bursts of intermittent color. In the distance a faint trickle of water echoed from the small river she’d asked to be put in to help water the plants.

Within this enveloping green, a small clearing had been made, the familiar sight emerging of four camping chairs surrounding a stone-circle fire pit. The pointed roof of a tent even poked out from behind the chairs, some distance away.

Noctis smiled as he stepped forward toward the makeshift campsite, gesturing happily toward the chairs as if to say,  _ take a seat. _ He was rather proud of his handiwork, having done most of that by himself fairly sneakily in his rare moments of downtime.

Within minutes the fire pit glowed with warm, growing flames, soft smoky tendrils curling and rising into the gradient sunset. The four warmed their hands and just soaked in the nostalgia, in the calm of it all. Noctis, watching the smiles emerging on his friends’ faces, finally broke the silence.

“...The four of us, around a campfire. How long’s it been?”

Ignis laced his fingers together against his knee as he answered, smiling through the words, “Hm… an eternity.”

It was strange, Noctis mused, he thought he’d become fairly skilled at public speaking over time; but here, in front of his friends, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words. It had been two years, two years since the sun came back. Two years of recovery. Of reclaimed time. Noctis wanted to take a night, just for them, to show appreciation in a way that would hopefully mean more to his friends than any award, ceremony, or celebration. He wanted something private, personal, and heartfelt. As the sun vanished into the horizon they found comfort together rather than anxiety, knowing that tomorrow, the sun would return. Their campfire crackled radiant, reflecting against the ground while the stars above illuminated the sky with distant, speckled light.

Noctis stumbled over his words, stuttering out a few hesitations before Gladio, wearing his trademark smirk, offered up his usual brand of encouragement: “Out with it.”

“I just… I missed this. Just the four of us, and the open sky. Knowing what we’ve been through, to get to where we are now, I… I couldn’t have done it without you. We’ve come so far, but we’ve done it all together. I’m not even sure if “thank you” would suffice, because what I feel is so, so much deeper than that. You’re my friends, my brothers. Without you, we might still be…” The unspoken words dissolve into the light crackle of the campfire, and Noctis watched as the kindling within the stones stirred and glowed through the flames. “...Thinking about what could have been, what almost was, it’s… more than I can take.”

“Yeah,” Prompto added, voice somewhat trembling as he continued on, “You’re damn right it is. But... I'm glad it turned out okay.”

Noctis hadn’t meant for their gathering to take a mournful turn, but the four sat in that same heavy silence for a moment, acknowledging all that had been sacrificed, all that had almost been lost, and gave respectful thanks.

“Huh... you spit it out,” Gladio said, somewhat solemnly, as his gaze swept from Noctis to each of his companions’ faces. His eyes held a reverent gleam, a lingering sorrow trapped within the glittering amber.

“It’s good to hear,” Ignis added, looking toward Noctis with that same hint of reverence in his gaze, his healed-over scars somewhat dark in the shadows of the firelight against his face.

After a while, Noctis, kindled on by the warmth of the fire, stood and smiled. “Well, what can I say?”

This time, the tears hiding in his eyes spilled over. His vision shimmered as he blinked the tears away. Through his own, he caught each of them with their own silver trails glistening down their cheeks, as if they collectively let out all they’d been holding in until that one moment.

“You guys… are the best.”

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to stick to as much dialogue from the campfire scene as possible, for maximum feels. Hope you enjoyed ; u ; I cried several times while writing this but it was WORTH IT


End file.
